They Don't Want Her There

I really loved this book! I learned so much about different law cases, and as someone v doesn't want to go into the field of law, Chalmers did an amazing job at breaking down the laws. This is such an interesting case, and it is yet another example of the countless times Asian American women's stories have been erased from history. I loved that Chalmers took into consideration the cultural and socioeconomic background of Dr. Jew while writing this book. I was hesitant to read a book by a white woman, a white lawyer in a relative position of power. about her Asian American client and abuse survivor. However, Chalmers does an incredible job of walking the line between telling Dr. Jews respectfully and honestly. Chalmers never assumes, she always asks. Chalmers tells the reader the facts. I really appreciated for Chalmers points out the similarities between herself and Dr. Jew, recognizing that female solidarity is oftentimes a privilege rather than a given. Highly highly recommend this to women in academia and current or future lawyers!

This is an important read for people who work in higher education - They Don't Want Her There tackles the workplace sexual harassment in education. I learned a lot from this book and although it was a very dense read I thought the author did a good job of making it readable and easy to understand.


Thank you to the author, University of Iowa Press, and NetGalley for providing an advance copy to review.

This non-fiction book is written by a lawyer who represented a woman named Dr. Jean Jew who was sexually harassed and experienced sexism and racism in her position at an Iowa University. The men who worked with her in the medical school felt threatened by a woman joining their ranks, and created a variety of rumours, gossip and allegations related to her relationship with another male colleague who was also her mentor and friend from before she arrived at the university.

This book is extremely thorough and covers each step of the case from the timeline of events prior to Dr. Jew seeking legal representation right down to the decision process the Judge and Jury faced. It is quite obvious from early on that this book is written by a lawyer. The writing is very factual and while opinions are mentioned at times, it is generally very neutral in tone. This makes it a bit difficult to connect with the author and the subject of the harassment, Dr. Jew. As far as "legalese", Chalmers did a really good job explaining the laws and the reasons why they chose one court vs another etc. so it was really easy to follow. It was also well planned out and for the most part told in chronological order, so the writing style choices the author made make perfect sense. That being said, these choices also really bogged down the book and made it very dry and slow. If you're looking for a non-fiction book that breaks down the case very carefully and in a way that is passionate yet not emotional, this is definitely a book for you. If you're looking for a memoir or biography related to sexual harassment in the work place, this book isn't quite that. Still definitely worth reading, but not quite what I was expecting.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

This was an important read - it is written by the lawyer representing someone who was a pioneer in challenging sexism in her industry, at a time when we are thinking about this issue more broadly.